The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization, commends the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) decision to file a lawsuit yesterday against a Boca Raton, FL nursing home that violated federal law by firing an employee who refused to work on the Sabbath.

According to the lawsuit, the rehab facility known as Menorah House, denied a religious accommodation to a certified nursing assistant who is a Seventh-Day Adventist. Seventh Day Adventists celebrate their Sabbath each week beginning at sundown on Friday and continuing until sundown on Saturday evening.

Nathan Diament director of public policy for the Orthodox Union said:

The EEOC’s decision to file this lawsuit is an important statement of support for the legal obligation of employers to accommodate the religious needs of their employees. We commend the EEOC for its recognition that no American should be put in the position of having to choose between their career and their conscience.

###